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Dumplings are humble and homey. They make people smile. I have loved them since childhood, and this site focuses on cooking and finding the tastiest morsels. It's also the companion to my cookbook, Asian Dumplings.

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Indian Recipes

07/08/2009

You don’t have to have all the proper, culturally specific equipment to make authentic Asian dumplings. For example, I use a Mexican tortilla press as a shortcut to preparing many dumpling wrappers. One late night while watching TV, an infomercial for a cast iron pancake puff pan (round baseball-like pancakes similar to Danish abelskiver/ebelskiver) caught my eye. “That pan is perfect for Indian kuzhi paniyaram, Japanese takoyaki, and Vietnamese banh khot,” I said to myself. The pan’s semi-spherical wells were bout 2 inches wide at the top, so not too big and not too small, versatile enough for many kinds of Asian dumplings. I bought one from Bed Bath and Beyond (one of the “As Seen on TV” pancake puff pans) but later noticed that they’re available online and at shops such as Williams Sonoma, Sur La Table, etc.

My friend Shiyam Sundar, a chef from South India, introduced me to these kuzhi paniyaram -- light, crisp dumplings made from a rice and lentil batter studded with spices and aromatics. Shiyam was sous chef at Amber India in San Jose, CA, but was unable to renew his visa and thus forced to return to India last month. I was feeling sad as he very much wanted to remain in America and cook Indian food with fresh California ingredients. Thinking of him, I took out the pancake puff pan and made kuzhi paniyaram.

There are many variations of green chutney as there are Indian households. This is my version of a Parsi (part Persian, part Indian) rendition from one of my favorite cookbooks, My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Inchaporia King. The coconut adds a slight richness that softens the bracing qualities of the herbs.

Green chutneys made with cilantro and mint lose their color within hours but this one, because it contains coconut, retains its verdant color for days. It tastes too good to keep around for that long, however. Grate your own coconut (use a hairy brown one), or purchase frozen grated coconut from Indian and Southeast Asian markets. This is a great accompaniment to Southern Indian fare such as kuzhi paniyaram rice and lentil dumplings.

1. Put the garlic, chiles and salt in a mini food processor and process to a fine texture.

2. Add the coconut, cilantro, mint, cumin, lime juice and water. Process to a thick, fine texture, pausing as needed to scrape down the sides. Aim for a texture that can stand up on a plate. Taste and add sugar if the flavor is too tart. Adjust the flavors as needed for tart, hot, salty, herby finish. Transfer to a jar or plastic container and set aside for a few hours for the flavors to blend. This chutney tastes better the next day to me, and it will keep for a week.

06/24/2009

The other day I made a batch of kumquat and mango chutney to go with these chile pea puffs. Both recipes are from Monica Bhide's new cookbook, Modern Indian. Monica’s recipe intrigued me because the filling is a simplified version of matar paneer – peas and cheese, one of my favorite Indian preparations. Remember to season the filling a little stronger than usual because it needs to stand up to the sweet-tart-pungent chutney. Go for a salty, spicy and sweet finish.

Wonton skins are not traditionally used for Indian dumplings, but neither is puff pastry, which I’ve seen people use. If you want to be hard-core, make a simple flaky pastry (the same kind as you’d use for samosas) and fry them as little half moons. But these are a modern take on traditional Indian foodways so go ahead, use wonton skins. Select thin ones (often labeled Hong Kong Style) for the best, most delicate flavor and texture.

You can bake these puffs as Monica prescribed in her recipe, but she also suggested deep frying them. For me, wonton skins shine when poached, steamed or deep-fried. Since neither of the first two cooking options would work here, I pulled out the oil. The result was heavenly.

06/22/2009

I love Indian chutneys and keep a stash of classic tamarind date chutney in the freezer and make a fast batch of fiery green (cilantro and/or mint) chutney for samosas, fried mung bean vada fritters, and bondas (spicy potato dumplings in chickpea batter). In Monica Bhide’s new cookbook, Modern Spice, I discovered this new one to add to my repertoire. Its tart-sweetness results from combining fresh kumquats with sweet canned mango puree (more on this below); a little sugar and vinegar makes things pop more.

The chutney receives lilting notes from sweet fennel seeds and pungent onion seeds. You can find both of these spices at Indian markets and well stocked health food stores and specialty markets. Onion seeds (also called nigella and kalonji seeds) look like black sesame seeds but have an uncommon peppery pungency and slight butterscotch-like flavor. They are not related to onions. Below is a photo for your reference.

06/02/2009

When I began working on the Asian Dumplings manuscript, I surveyed a number of my friends and fellow food writers about their favorite dumplings. Ruta Kahate, author of 5 Spices, 50 Dishes: Simple Indian Recipes Using Five Common Spices, suggested dal dhokli. It's a creamy, fragrant Indian lentil dish that at first glimpse didn't quite seem to fit my already elastic definition of Asian dumplings. But then I did some research and realized that a dumpling doesn’t always have to be something wrapped, stuffed, or dropped to be a dumpling. In fact, the notion of dumplings as pieces of bread dough poached in a stew is an enduring western culinary concept that is also part of Asian cuisines.

Indian cooks, particularly those from Gujarat where this dish originated, cut diamond-shaped pieces of unleavened chapati bread dough and gently simmer them in an aromatic, spicy lentil dal. The saucy, rich, and satisfying vegan result is a beloved comfort food. Some people describe dal dhokli as a pasta-like dish, but the practice of dropping everyday bread dough into a simmering pot puts it in the dumpling category. This recipe did not make it into Asian Dumpling because it didn’t dovetail tightly with the other recipes. I’ve been waiting to present it to you because it’s amazingly tasty. Every time I prepare it at home, my husband and I stick our head over the simmering dal and inhale the fragrant aromatics and spicy heat, saying, “Ah, dal dholki!”